Search

Islands

When it comes to Amanwana, it really is almost about the journey as much as the destination. Situated on Moyo island in Sumbawa Besar, the jungle resort is just an hour’s flight from Bali in a C-208 Amphibian Cessna Caravan float plane that flies impossibly close to stunning volcanoes and dives into marshmallow clouds of brilliant white, emerging again to reveal dazzling views of rugged green slopes and picture-perfect coastlines before it lands at a backward tilt with a gentle series of splashes on the most perfectly sapphire waters. A multitude of varieties of fish are already visible as the plane pulls up to the jetty and the door opens.

You’ve probably seen his photographs in magazines, perhaps in a coffee-table book on the Wallace Line or the Indonesian archipelago, maybe even in an advertisement for a high-definition television. They are those rare images that capture the essence of a place, showing us an aspect that is unique and rare; images that require not only passion, drive, planning, and courage, but also a piece of equipment that creates its own centrifugal force, called a gyro stabilizer, and a micro light aircraft. Jez O’Hare’s images from above inspire travel, exploration and poetry, offering us an escape into a world that we can’t quite make tangible and triggering a mind, heart and soul reaction of awe at the beauty of Indonesia.

Adrianna Tan writes: Think of Indonesia’s perfect beaches and idyllic island life, and Bali and Lombok immediately spring to mind. Their beaches and other island offerings may still rank among the world’s most stunning and exotic, but seclusion is an increasingly rare commodity. Perhaps you’ve tired of the ‘tropical paradise’ picture perfect postcard retreats you love, which are still undeniably beautiful, but now spoilt by unkempt beaches and more likely to feature other red-faced foreigners more interested in their Bintang Beer than endless stretches of white sand and palm trees. Or perhaps as a seasoned Southeast Asia old hand you’ve seen it all, and island-hopped enough so much so that it’s the rare few special island or resort that can stir up any excitement at all.